The morning was clouded in a hazy silence as Oliver stood alone by his wife's grave, the stone simple yet enduring. He ran his fingers along the etched name, feeling the weight of a promise made long ago—one that had shaped the years since he left the agency. The vow to leave violence behind had been his anchor, his way to live a life she would have been proud of. But here he was, after all these years, back on the edge of danger.
A soft wind swept over the cemetery, rustling the wildflowers he had brought. Placing a single flower on her grave, he whispered, "I'm sorry, love. I swore I wouldn't go back to this life, but I don't have a choice." He straightened, his gaze steeling. "One last time. For her. For us." With one final glance, he turned, leaving behind a promise broken but a resolve that was sharper than ever.
---
Oliver's destination was not home but an abandoned nuclear plant, a relic from a time long past. He had spent days preparing it, cleansing what he could and setting up barriers in the zones they'd be using. A nuclear plant wasn't an ideal meeting ground, but it was a clever one. No one in their right mind would come near it, especially the authorities; it was far enough from prying eyes to give them the time and space they needed.
The team members gathered hesitantly at the plant's entrance, each clutching their dosimeter as Oliver had instructed. It was a strange sight, this motley group in such a desolate place, an odd mix of determination and skepticism on their faces. Oliver's cold, commanding presence was the only thing holding them together as they debated the location's risks.
Ethan Carter was the first to break the silence, his sharp green eyes scanning the surroundings as he looked to Oliver. "Not exactly cozy, but I see what you're doing here," he said. As the strategist, Ethan was accustomed to risks, but even he seemed slightly unsettled by the abandoned corridors.
Maya Kim, the hacker with an edgy style and piercing blue eyes, kept her dosimeter close, her face an impassive mask. She shrugged, clearly unbothered by the eerie surroundings. "As long as the dosimeter isn't screaming, I'm fine," she said, shifting her gaze to Oliver for their next move.
Nico Vargas, the disguise expert, frowned as he adjusted his own device. His playful demeanor was muted, his gaze more calculating than usual. "You know, Oliver, I've worn a lot of outfits, but hazmat chic wasn't on my list," he joked, attempting to lighten the mood, though it was clear he was slightly uncomfortable.
The last member present was Sofia Torres, the analyst, but as they waited, time dragged on, and there was no sign of her. The team glanced at Oliver, uncertain, but he only shook his head slightly, a calm acceptance in his eyes.
"She had a lot to lose," he said. "It's her choice, and I don't blame her for taking it." There was no bitterness in his tone, only the acceptance of someone who knew the stakes and the sacrifices each of them had to weigh.
The room of the abandoned nuclear plant, now repurposed for one purpose: strategy. Cold fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting harsh shadows across the concrete floor and illuminating the group's supplies spread across a large metal table. The room itself was spacious enough to accommodate fifteen people with ease, yet it held only a few members of Oliver's team, each armed with their tools, their gathered gear, and the burden of the plan they were about to enact.
Their surroundings were a relic of another era—walls lined with rusted control panels, pipes running along the ceiling, and cracks spiderwebbing across the cement floor. Dust lingered in the air, stirred only occasionally by the shuffling of feet or the clink of metal as the group set out their equipment. In one corner stood a stack of empty crates, and on the other side of the room was a door leading to another part of the facility, locked to keep out anyone who might wander too close. The atmosphere was charged with tension, the silence thick as each member pulled out their accumulated tools and began assessing their own preparedness.
First up was Ethan Carter, the strategist, who laid out an assortment of communication devices, earpieces, and a miniature drone for surveillance. "We've got decent comms and this one drone," he murmured, glancing at Oliver. "But we're short on a backup signal jammer. If anyone's got leads on one, we'll need it for real-time interference in case things go sideways."
Next to him, Nico Vargas—always quick with a clever disguise or prop—displayed his collection of forged IDs, wigs, hats, and glasses, a small arsenal of tools for blending in. He patted down his spread, muttering, "I've got cover for us if we need to slip past security, but it'd be nice to have some new, more high-tech disguises to fool facial recognition systems."
Maya Kim, their hacker, grinned as she showed her own contributions: a custom-built laptop, loaded with software, along with several USB drives primed to exploit security systems. She tapped her laptop, saying, "These should get us access to most things, but we're lacking a good backup network for on-the-fly access. If they've updated their systems, that could cause a problem."
Finally, Oliver himself laid out a few compact tools—a lockpicking set, a glass cutter, and a few smaller items useful for breaking and entering, alongside a grappling hook. He looked at his team, his expression serious. "We're missing thermal equipment. Vault locks sometimes have temperature-based triggers; if they've got that system, we'll be in trouble without a way to manage it."
When each member had assessed what they had and noted what they still needed, Ethan unrolled a blueprint across the table, the blue paper smooth against the cold steel surface. He leaned over it, the flickering fluorescent lights catching the sharp intensity in his green eyes as he began to point to different areas with a pen.
"Alright, here's how Arcadia Holdings is set up," Ethan started, tracing a line down the blueprint. "This is the main entrance," he indicated a small alcove to the north side of the structure, "and it's heavily guarded. Most days, we're looking at two guards on the exterior, another inside the vestibule. They change shifts at exactly 2 a.m., which is why that's our window."
He tapped the center of the blueprint. "The lobby. It's spacious, open floor, and no major barriers apart from the standard teller windows. The issue is, it's covered with at least six visible cameras and another three that are tucked behind these columns here." His finger circled the small boxes marking cameras. "We'll need to time our moves to bypass these, or have them looped."
Next, he pointed to a series of rooms behind the lobby, lined with what appeared to be offices and hallways. "These are the offices. Not a huge threat, but we'll want to avoid any late-night stragglers, so don't go wandering. And here," he continued, pointing to the lower section of the blueprint, "is the main vault."
The vault was located at the deepest point of the building, behind layers of reinforced walls and thick steel doors. Ethan's voice grew more intense as he explained. "Arcadia uses a medium-level security setup for their vault, but that doesn't mean it'll be easy. There's an infrared detection grid just outside the door, meaning any movement within a 10-foot radius will trigger an alarm."
Ethan glanced up, his eyes sweeping across the group. "This is where the roles come in. Nico, you'll be our front-line cover. You're going in first to blend in, and once you're in, you'll clear a path to the side entrance for the rest of us. Maya, I want you on the security feed the moment we step inside. If there's anything on the radar, it's your job to loop it."
Maya nodded, already calculating her approach. She was up next, and she stepped forward, flipping open her laptop and typing rapidly. A 3D model of the bank appeared on the screen, rotating smoothly as she controlled it with her touchpad. The team leaned in, visibly impressed by the level of detail.
"Didn't think I'd come unprepared, did you?" she said with a smirk. "I ran my own recon on the building's infrastructure. Arcadia's security is good but not foolproof."
Maya began to explain her plan to override the security system. She zoomed in on each section of the 3D model, her fingers moving deftly across the keyboard. "The camera system is set up in a continuous feed to the main security hub. The problem with most banks," she began, her tone laced with an almost mischievous satisfaction, "is that they overestimate their tech. By tapping into their mainframe, I can create a feedback loop—basically making their cameras replay a short segment of footage over and over."
Her eyes glittered as she explained further, "All it takes is a few seconds of clean footage from each camera, which I'll access before we enter. I'll set that footage to loop so that for the duration of our heist, it'll look like an empty building on their security feed. As long as we stay clear of the sensors in the vault itself, we'll be ghosts."
Nico whistled, clearly impressed. "And the alarm systems?"
Maya grinned, never one to disappoint. "Oh, I've got that covered too. Arcadia's alarm system has a central node, which connects to an external security company. If anything trips the alarms, they'll get a notification. So, before we enter, I'll remotely disconnect the system for exactly seven minutes—long enough to keep us clear without setting off any suspicions."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Only seven minutes?"
"More than enough if everyone sticks to their roles," she replied coolly. "The timing is going to be tight, though. We've got exactly two minutes to break into the side entrance, three minutes to move through the lobby and into the vault hallway, and another two to handle the vault. After that, I'll need to reconnect the system or risk triggering an external alarm."
She looked up from her laptop, her gaze sharp. "That's our timeline. If we hit any roadblocks, it'll be on us to improvise, but if everyone does their job, we're in and out clean."
Oliver's jaw tightened as he looked at each member of his team. It was a daring plan, but with Maya's technical prowess, Ethan's strategic mind, and the unique skills of each team member, it was feasible. "Alright," he said, his voice low but steady, "we know the stakes. This isn't just a payday; it's a chance to rewrite our futures. Stick to the plan, don't take any unnecessary risks, and remember—every second counts."
They all nodded in unison, a silent agreement binding them together. In this abandoned nuclear plant, far from the life Oliver had once promised his wife, a new kind of promise was taking shape: one last job, one final heist, and a future within reach.